Ernest w



(Modr.)l

E. W. HOEFLE.

PAN.- No. 323,811. Patented Aug. 4, 1885.'

'15 a fan when open.

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tristi@ vn'rsivr ERNEST WV. HOEFLE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TOSOHENER dt BROTHER, OF SAME PLACE.

FAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 323,811` dated August4, 1885.

Application filed March 12, 1885. (Model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEs'r W. HOEFLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county and State of New York,

have invented new and useful Improvements in Fans, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a folding` fan with novelmeans for holding it 1o in an unfolded position. This object Iaccomplish in the manner hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is afaceview, partly in section,of

Fig. 2 is an under view, or bottom View, of a fan when open. Fig. 3 is aside view of a fan when closed, said fan being provided with a handle.Fig. 4 is a detail view, partly in section and on a larger 2o scale thanFig. l. Fig. 5 is a top view, or end view, of a fan when closed. Fig. 6is a side view, partly in section, of a manner of forming hinges for thefan. Figs. 7 and 8 show modifications.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts.

The letters A B designate side pieces or side sticks of a fan, and K isthe web of the fan. The side pieces, A B,are shown as swinging on acommon pivot, I.

The side pieces, A B, are provided with catches E, which are adapted toengage with a locking device, C, and hold the fan open,as shown in Figsland 4. In the example shown in the drawings the catches E are shown inthe shape of lugs or tai1-pieces,which, by the opening of the fan, areforced into a groove or recess in the locking device G, Figs. 1 and 4,and by such engagement the fan is held open.

Stops F,Figs. 3 and 4, are placed in the path of the catches E, and suchstops prevent the fan being opened farther than is required.

The looking device G may be left plain or made of any ornamental shapeor configura- 4 5 tion desired; and such locking device may also beprovided with an eyelet or other suitable attaching device for receivinga cord or tassel or any desired ornament, as shown in Fig. 1. Suchlocking device G may also be extended 5o to form a handle, D, as shownin Fig. 3. The

locking device is preferably made of metal or some material having acertain elasticity or springiness.

The side pieces, A B, to which web K is secured,may be made of bars orplates, or they may be recessed, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to wholly orpartially inclose and protect the web K when the fan is closed. The webK may be secured to the side pieces, A B, by glue or other advesive, orin any manner which 6o readily suggests itself to the fan-maker.

The side pieces, A B, may be made of wood, metal, celluloid, or anyother suitable material or combination of materials, and said sidepieces may be left plain, or they may be ornal niented, for example, byembossing, painting, by covering said side pieces With leather, velvet,or other suitable material, or in any other suitable manner.

The web K may be made of paper, cloth, or 7o other suitable material,and of any desired color; and said web may be left plain, or it may beornamented, for example, by painting, or in any other suitable manner. v

The pivots I may be formed by metal caps G,provided with flanges whichengage one another so as to hinge together the caps G. I have found thata simple and effective pivot is formed by perforating the locking deviceO and the inner or hinge ends of the caps G; then 8o placing the caps Gand locking device C in such a position that said perforations or holescorrespond with one another, Fig. 6, and then passing through saidperforations, and on each side of the fan pins or pivots I, Fig. 6,which are headed or danged at each end so as to be retained inplace,whi1e leaving the caps G and locking device C free to turn aboutthe pivots I. Instead of two pivots, I, I may use one pivot, passingthrough from one side of the 9o fan to the other; but by using two shortpivots, I, as shown in Fig. 6, I avoid the piercing of the web K by suchpivot I. The pivots I may be made solid, if desired; but by using twoshort hollow shafts or eyelets to form the pivots I, it is possible toobtain pivots strong enough to answer all practical demands5and in themanufacture of fans material is saved by using hollow pivots, especiallywhen such fans are madein large quan- IoO tities.

The caps G may be provided with ears II,

by which the caps can be clamped or fastened to the side pieces, A B.The caps G may also be attached to the side pieces, A B, by rivets, asshown in Fig. 2, or both by rivets and by the attaching-ears H.

Of course various modifications can be made without departing from myinvention-as, for example, the locking device C, instead of beingmountedindependently on the pivot I, may be fastened to one of the sidepieces, A or B, and may move with the saine; also, the locking of thefan in its open position, instead of being accomplished by a lugengaging with a notch or groove, may be accomplished by a spring-catchor other suitable device.

Instead of one pivot, I, being employed, I can hinge the side pieces, AB, together by a double-jointed hinge of the character, for example, ofthe hinge shown in United States Letters Patent No. 229,188, dated June22, 1880, in which patent' the handles of a fan are shown as beingjoined by a double-jointed hinge consisting of pivots andconnectingplates.

I am aware that it is not new to lock a fan in its open position by alocking device engaging the free or outer ends of the side pieces ofafan, but in my device the pivotal ends, or one of the pivotal ends, ofthe fau comes into engagement with a locking device.`

In the modification shown in Fig. 7 the pivotal ends of the side pieces,instead of engaging separately with a locking device, engage orinterlock with one another to hold the fan open. In this case one of thecaps G is provided with a recess or hollow, into which springs orcatches the lug or catch E on the other cap G, and by this engagementthe fan is held open. In this case the locking device C can be dispensedwith, and, if desired, a ring or some ornament, L, may be pivoted orattached to the pivot I, or at any other desired place.

A double-jointed hinge of the kind above referred to is shown in Fig. 8,where A B are the side sticks or side pieces and G are the caps. Theside piece A swings on one pivot, I, and the side piece B swings on thepivot I', the pivots I and I being connected-a\s, for example, by platesor washers N-thus forming a double-jointed hinge. A modified form of|locking device is also shown in Fig. S, con sisting of a bolt, C, whichslides back and forth in guides in one of the side sticks, and when thefan is open said bolt C can be slid along on the side stick to which itis connected until it engages a hasp or retaining device, E, on theother side stick, thus locking the fan in its open position. A ring orornament, L, may also in this case be provided.

rIhe web K may be stiffened either by plates or sticks of wood, metal,or other suitable material placed between the folds of the web; but Iprefer to stiffen the web by either doubling the web for a certaindistance from the pivot toward the outer edge of the web, or by gluing,pasting, or otherwise attaching a double or additional cloth or web ontothe web K for a certain distance from the pivot toward the outer edge ofthe web. A double or additional cloth or web also protects the main webK at the part where the person using the fan is liable to grasp the web,thus protecting the web from wear. `The edge of the double orsupplemental web is indicated by the line-K in Fig. l.

\Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the pivoted side pieces, A and B, of a foldingfan, of a catch, E, connected with the pivoted end of one side piece,and a locking device connected with the pivoted end of the other sidepiece, with which locking device the catch engages when the fan isunfolded, substantially as and for the purpose described. y i

2. rlhe side pieces, A B, having catches E, formed by tail-pieces orlugs engaging with a groove in the locking device C for locking the fanin its open position, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the side pieces, A B, of a handle, D, having acommon pivot with said side pieces, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses. l y

ERNEST WV. HOEFLE.

W'itnesses: v

l). VAN SiiN'rvooRn, \VM. C. IAIAUFF.

